Karl Malone plays on, despite three nagging injuries.
But there may be more to Malone's pain than that.In discussing Malone's apparent and quite-controversial decision to sit out the upcoming NBA All-Star Game to rest his weary and worn body parts, Jazz owner Larry H. Miller suggested Thursday that the Mailman's feelings are hurt, too.
It's a respect thing.
"I think Karl feels under-appreciated by the league, and I think the incident with (Mavericks coach) Don Nelson in Dallas underscores that," Miller said with reference to an happenstance earlier this season that resulted in Malone being fined $10,000 by the NBA. "Karl is a proud guy."
Malone also seems to be a guy headed for a showdown with the NBA, which according to Miller may suspend Malone for multiple games should it determine the reigning NBA MVP is unnecessarily skipping the Feb. 13 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland -- especially if it is for reasons beyond his medical situation.
After the Jazz's 102-99 loss to Milwaukee on Thursday night at the Delta Center, a game in which he scored a team-high 28 points, Malone spoke: "Hell, yeah-- my body needs a break," he said when asked if it did. "And when the proper time comes, hell, I'm going to take it."
Asked whether he intends to play in the All-Star Game, Malone -- who last Saturday became just the third player in NBA history to hit the 30,000-point plateau -- walked away from a group of reporters.
"I don't have a problem with it," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said of Malone's apparent decision not to play. "A guy wants to take care of himself before he gets ready to play (the end of the season). . . .
"And if the league suspends him," Sloan added, "maybe they ought to suspend some of those guys that have got ingrown hangnails that don't play for about two months."
The league has not yet taken a public stance on the matter.
"It would be premature to address that situation at this time," Brian McIntyre, the NBA's senior vice president for sports communications, said Thursday.
McIntyre said the league may revisit the issue next week, should there be a need. McIntyre also said it would be premature to name a replacement player for Malone, who was voted fifth at his position in fan balloting for the two starting forward positions on the Western Conference team.
Malone and teammate point guard John Stockton were added to the team as reserves on Tuesday, a selection process involving voting by coaches from throughout the conference.
Malone himself has not publicly addressed the question of All-Star Game participation.
He did, though, hint privately last week that he did not intend to play, and on Wednesday, his Los Angeles-based agent, Dwight Manley, said Malone would not honor his 12th All-Star Game selection due to back and finger injuries.
Malone missed much of training camp and the preseason due to a strained lower back, but that injury has not prevented him from playing in any regular-season games. Manley said Malone aggravated the back injury in a game against Seattle on Tuesday, when he collided with referee Phil Robinson and tumbled into a seating platform behind a baseline at the Delta Center.
Manley also cites a finger injury Malone has battled for some time, and said Malone plans to see specialists in both Arkansas and California to address the medical problems.
Malone tore a tendon in the middle finger on his shooting hand a couple of seasons back but has never missed games because of it. He apparently aggravated the finger injury when striking it against the rim while playing in Portland last week but finished that game as well.
Jazz trainer Mike Shimensky adds to the litany of injuries a bruised right elbow sustained when Malone and Robinson fell.
"I would say it didn't help his back," Shimenky said of the spill. "He's been bothered by it ever since training camp. I mean, he gets daily treatments for it . . . (and we're) trying to cut back on pounding during practices and such. So it's been an ongoing thing. We're trying for it to not get any worse, but he's able to play with it right now. I think rest would be . . . good."
"And now he has a contusion to his right elbow, in the shooting hand," he added. "That's (from) when he fell under the basket. So back, elbow."
Shimensky said he favors Malone using the five-day All-Star break to rest and recover: "I definitely would recommend it. . . . I'm sure that our doctors would highly recommend that, too."
From that perspective, Miller realizes why Malone may not want to play.
"I understand, from my standpoint, that Karl wants to take care of himself and has the best interests of the team in mind," he said. "In that regard, I can see him putting the team first, and, as an owner, I have to like that."
But Miller also suggested the league may frown upon Malone not playing, particularly if it is primarily because of his unhappiness over a variety of league-related issues.
"That worries me, obviously, as an owner, too," he said.
Malone seems to be growing increasingly frustrated about various calls going against him and was particularly incensed was he was fined for the hullabaloo in Dallas, where Nelson (who was fined and suspended one game) bumped him during a mid-court confrontation prompted by Malone engaging in supposed elbowing and kneeing incidents with Mavs center Shawn Bradley.
Malone, 36, also expressed disdain last week with the All-Star Game selection process, which he believes favors younger players the league is fond of promoting.
Further complicating matters is the fact Malone finished with relatively few votes from fans -- 327,599 compared to more than 1 million for some starters. The Mailman hasn't always had pleasant All-Star Game experiences, either, especially due to an incident two years ago in which he felt disrespected by young Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.
Sloan, for one, says he won't worry about it -- or any ramifications of the decision, including a possible suspension.
"We're just assuming that he's not going to be there, and I don't know if he's going to miss it or not," Sloan said. "So until he misses it, I can't do anything about it. And the league can't either.
"We're assuming something's gonna happen before it happens . . . And if he does miss a game (due to suspension), I'll worry about that later on," Sloan said. "But right now I'm more concerned about the regular-season games we have to play."